On the (Monkey) Ball

While some parents may grumble about how much time their kids play video games, two siblings originally from this province are making names for themselves in the industry.

Andrew and Deirdre Ayre run Other Ocean Interactive located in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

Andrew is a veteran in the video game world and owns the company. Deirdre is the studio head.

When Apple Computers released its iPhone in Canada, and many other parts of the world earlier this month, many users started downloading a game for the gadget called "Super Monkey Ball."

The game was originally designed for the Nintendo GameCube and Wii consoles.

But it was Other Ocean which redeveloped the game for the iPhone, one of the first 3-D games ever available on a mobile phone.

SEGA of America originally developed the game and approached Other Ocean to redesign it for the new gizmo.

"We had done some work for them previously that they were particularly impressed with and they thought we would be the best people to make this game for them," says Deirdre.

And it's one of the most popular downloads for the device.

Andrew started in the video game industry in the early 1990's.

The studio in P.E.I. opened in 2006 as part of a bigger venture he was involved in. But last year he bought out the studio and became the sole owner and renamed the company Other Ocean.

He also started a sister company on the island called Sculpin QA which tests video games before they hit the market.

Chris Sharpley is the senior artist for the iPhone version of "Super Monkey Ball."

This is how he describes the game:

"You use the tilt functionality of the iPhone to control a kind of floating platform and by tilting it, you allow a little ball to roll around on the surface. And there's a monkey in the ball, hence the name," he says.

The game has been incredibly successful for the fledgling company.

"We knew the game was very, very good. I mean, you just know when you're developing something if it's going well," says Deirdre.

"Other Ocean has so far dealt with console games. So when me and (senior programmer) Gordon (Wood) looked to this game we just treated the iPhone as just another console (instead of a phone)," says Sharpley.

"We've probably set the standard," he says.

"Super Monkey Ball" for the iPhone has exceeded expectations to the point where the company has created a division to work on other games and software for the iPhone and the iPod Touch.

"The video game industry is extremely successful and growing but at the same time it is a fairly tight community and word spreads quickly when companies are making good products," says Deirdre.

She says the company employs about 35 people and has another 15 working for Sculpin.

Deirdre says she and Andrew wanted to set up the company in Atlantic Canada to prove a high calibre video game studio could succeed here.

"We really want to encourage young people and their parents to consider, to take this industry as a serious career choice," she says.

Deirdre says she hopes the company is doing its little part to curb out-migration from this region.

dbartlett@thetelegram.com